This recipe is featured in our May/June 2015 Food + Entertaining article, Happy Mother’s Day from Peachy! Plus Fantastic Entertaining Ideas from the May/June Issue. Since Lillet is made with citrus and slightly herbal, we wanted to find the best citrus and herbs to pair with it—which is how we devised this easy-to-drink bourbon cooler. It’s a good idea to double-strain this cocktail to get rid of any floating thyme bits, but if you skip this step we won’t tell the Cocktail Police. Just don’t leave out the thyme, in the drink itself or in the garnish—that’s what makes this cocktail so compelling.
Bourbon Cooler
Course: Drinksingredients
1 ½ ounces Lillet
1 ½ ounces bourbon (we like Buffalo Trace)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
Dash of Angostura bitters”
¼ ounce simple syrup
Several sprigs fresh thyme
Soda water
Directions
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine first five ingredients. Toss a full thyme sprig in there, too. Shake hard, and double-strain (that is, through a fine mesh strainer) into a tall glass with fresh ice. Add an ounce or two of soda water to top it off, and garnish with a new thyme sprig.
